


Lands and Kings.

by DwarvishWarriors



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Forbidden Love, Kingdoms, M/M, Mpreg, Plotting, outsiders - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-04-22 14:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4838087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DwarvishWarriors/pseuds/DwarvishWarriors
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dwalin had not expected to take over his fathers kingdom when he was as young as he was. He also didn't expect to go on an adventure with the people he had been trying to fight with for over half his life, leaving his kingdom and life far behind him.</p><p>He also didn't expect to fall for the feral peoples youngest prince.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dwalin, son of Fundin, was an upstanding alpha. One of great morals and a fine upbringing to succeed his magnificent line of alpha and beta leaders, all were rulers in the tribe Long Claw in the high forests of the Durin land. Up, above all the land and even the clouds sometimes, laid the kingdom of Erebor. The land was ruled by his cousin Thorin, an alpha like himself and a fierce companion to him since they were both young boys. A loyal and well spoken leader who ruled with an iron clasp, which was softened marginally by his maternally rounded husband. One Bilbo Baggins, an omega of high privilege from across the western waters, who was as finely curved now in his pregnancy, that people from every corner of the world and every stature of their kind would praise the omega and sing songs of his beauty. Dwalin, in his occasional visits to Erebor, would laugh at his cousin and his foolish smiles whenever Bilbo was near and rubbing his rounded middle, that he and Thorin had created with love and passion. The soft looks and gentle touches they gave each other without even knowing was enough to drive a good man mad, and a bad man to drink. That was Dwalin.

 

 

 

On the steps of Erebor, hidden in the quiet forests, where the trees grew high and littered with fruits, sat the Long Claw kingdom. Under the control of Fundin himself it was a prosperous time, where man and beast lived as one and the gifted power of transforming into a creature, under the nights all seeing stars was a way to connect with the world around them. Even though the power of transforming had been lost to some with time and need, those who were well and thrived, like the Fundin king and his sons, were granted such power when it was needed. Dwalin knew the lands like he knew his own face, by ever crack and curve, which he had learnt by map and then by paw as a growing boy. He knew of much further lands too, where small packs, as they called themselves, roamed freely in groups of families and hunters. A few of these groups occasionally turned feral, turning on one another and then turning on the world around them, searching for fresh meat and fresh men to fight. Dwalin had only dealt with three feral packs in his whole life, while patrolling the borders of their land he came across them with his clan brothers and chased them away with snaps of razor teeth and tears from hooked claws. It had been many years since he had seen a pack close to their civilised lands and it was a blessing.

 

To the east of the land sat the clan of Red, where Dwalin's second set of cousins ruled under their father, Groin, who ruled with wit and a cunning eye of a fox. A single eye as he had lost one, many years ago, in the battle for the seas, which had never damned his spirit even for a second. He and his sons lived by the shores, and were responsible for all the fish in the three kingdoms, which was an incredibly important job, as during the pregnancy of the ruling consort, Bilbo had developed a fancy for any kind of fish they could find, and Dwalin had seen him once eat a whole platter, by himself, in one sitting. He did not question it of course, Bilbo had grown up by the waters himself so there is no doubt his child would crave such a food. 

 

The three kingdoms were prosperous and maintained where the sun did shine almost everyday, and all across the lands their was peace and security in that their ways of life would prevail.

 

That was, until, the death of the Fundin King.

 

Dwalin was the first one to be alerted to the fall of their father. He, who had just returned from the wars in the north with victory, was expected to become king of their people. His brother, Balin, though the first born was an intelligent and patient beta who was better to serve as a councilman than a king. So all powers fell to the alpha son of Fundin. 

 

The prince had burst through the flaps of the medical hut where his father was resting. The old mans eyes were darkening and his hands nothing more than tanned flesh on brittle bone, as it reached carefully for his son, as Balin was already tucked in the corner of the tent and whimpering into his hand. Dwalin fell to his knees at his fathers side, pulling off his gauntlet and gloves to pull off his heavy helmet, throwing it to the side with a loud clatter that frightened the nurse maids in the room.

 

"My son." Fundin whispered, his voice just as weak as his body and Dwalin took the old mans wrinkled hand, placing his lips to his fathers knuckles in respect and to show his father, whose eyes were dimming by the seconds of the sun.

 

"I'm here father, it's me. Dwalin." The youngest son said gently and Fundin's head rolled carefully to see him, a fond and familiar smile passing his lips as he saw his son. The young man was hiding his tears well in the presence of his father.

 

"My boy. I am old, I am worn, an-" A slow and weak breath came from between his fathers lips as an interruption and Dwalin tightened his hold on his weakening fathers hand as he continued. "And I am set to travel to the lands of beyond, to be with my ancestors, and your mother."

 

Dwalin lowered his head and placed his forehead to his fathers hand as he heard those words, the mention of his mother weighing down his heart. Another wrinkled hand pressed tenderly against the top of Dwalin's bald head and made the young man look up. His father then removed his silver engraved circlet from his grey stands of hair. The fine crown was a plain silver piece which had been bound with ivory and carved with the markings of a bear and vines, which curved their ways around the whole thing and settled on the middle bear, which was upright in a powerful stance.

 

"This is yours now, my son-" Fundin said as he pressed the silvery weight toward his son and placing it in his sons strong hands. Dwalin stared wide eyed at the coronet, as a child he had found himself enticed by the hefty crown his father wore, and he was amazed by the way the silver would glint and glow like an evening moon. However, now the crown looked murky and a poisoned cream colour as if it plotted Dwalin's own demise.

 

The young man shook his head.

 

"No, no, father. It is too soon, far too soon. I am not prepared, I-" Dwalin tried but his father silenced him with a firm gaze.

 

"You're ready, my boy. Y-you have your strength an- and your brother." Fundin wheezed and Dwalin shook his head again, this time more too himself. Then, his father settled him with a soft gaze, one of weakness and tenderness that he had not seen in his father since he was a young boy. "Protect our people, Dwalin. I have faith... Wear this crown as a- a- show of your power and greet the men as their new king. Be strong, both of you, be strong..."

 

A moment of silence then ensued followed by a slow release of breath from the king. The last breath of the king. Dwalin watched his father for a moment, tongue heavy and hearth aching. The young man then turned to the heavy crown that sat nearby, still glinting at the young man. A soothing hand then rested gently against Dwalin's shoulder and he looked back to see his brother, tearful eyes consuming his ageing face.

 

"Our fathers soul be but a little way above our heads, Dwalin. You must put on the crown." Balin stated and Dwalin shook his head rapidly. He now noticed all the eyes on the room were on him, many, he could see, were contemplating bowing or kneeling in the sight of the new king.

 

"I cannot. Balin, do not make me-"

 

"You must, Dwalin. You do not want another alpha trying to challenge you for the spot."

 

"I can take them if they try." Dwalin growled as he further shoved the crown away, causing it to tumble across the bed and roll over the side, landing with a loud clang on the floor. Dwalin then lunged to his feet, picking up his gloves, gauntlets, and helmet in his passing, and shoved past his brother and the medical servants around him. He ploughed out of the tent and into the view of his people, who were all gathered around the tent even if they were pretending to do their duties.

 

Dwalin hurried to his own wooden hut and threw down his armour down on the straw mattress of his room, leaving him only in his cotton shirt and leather trousers, which he also quickly discarded before shifting into his wolf form. The transition had become all but painless over time, his bones and joints sliding and fixing easily to their familiar places. However, now there was a heavy pain in Dwalin's chest as it cracked and crackled into its new shape and he could only whine and sigh until he was in his form. Once fully turned he slipped out of the back of his hut, which was connected to the dense forest land around the kingdom, and ran.

 

At this time of pain for the young prince turned king, a time of great joy was beginning to form in the minds of the old Fundin kings advisor's.

 

"With the old king dead, now should begin the time of democracy! A time where many men shall rule these lands, and I press myself forward as officer of the men. I am the eldest of us all and it is by divine law, if not my divine right, to rule." A wrinkled old Alpha by the name of Smaug spoke up and the advisor's grumbled, all hoping that they would get the new role as king.

 

"You are forgetting your place Master Smaug, it is the kings sons that will take his place." Another advisor spoke up and Smaug glared at him.

 

"His sons are too weak to lead. Balin is old and wise, I grant, but he cannot defend the kingdom from an attack with his own arm."

 

"And the youngest? The alpha son of Fundin?"

 

A snort and a few laughs came from the rest of the advisor's, all did not agree with the rule of Dwalin due to his strength of arm being the only strength he possessed. They all knew the alpha of Fundin held no strength in his mind, for he was ignorant, nor did he hold strength in his heart, he was brave that was certain, but he was stubborn and would not love easily.

 

"It is ridiculous." Smaug hissed now as he sat back with his arms crossed in anger. "The alpha son is not fit to rule, he is irresponsible and weak-minded."

 

"Now now, lad. Let us give the boy a chance, why, his own father was reckless in his youth and he shaped into a fine king. I am certain-"

 

"Hush up!"

 

Balin entered the hut with a sigh, his fathers crown hanging limply from his hand, his head bowed in grief.

 

"I am afraid, gentlemen. My father has passed." Balin sighed in admittance and the advisers around him feigned surprise and sympathy.

 

"Surely, there is something we can do, my lord." Smaug spoke up with a respectful bow. "It would be in his passed majesties great interest that we be of some comfort to his sons at this... grave hour."

 

Balin waved the thin man away and placed the heavy crown upon the table, his hands rubbing through his greying hair with worry.

 

"Where be your brother, sir?" An old man in a soft red coat asked and Balin shrugged slightly. "Should the crown not be upon his head?"

 

"My brother refuses the privilege, for now. I am certain I will win him around as soon as he returns from his rampage in the forest." Balin comforted and Smaug grinned slightly, hiding it behind his thin and pale hand.

 

"My lord," The serpent-like man spoke. "May I be so bold as to recommend a trip for his young majesty, perhaps send him to his cousins for the week. It might help him see the joys and leisure of his kingship. Perhaps he may even find himself a young mate at court, the possibilities are boundless."

 

The advisers all spoke of their suppoert of the action, while Balin rubbed his bearded chin in thought. His fathers crown twinkled back at him in agreement and he nodded.

 

"Indeed. It is high time my brother come to know the kingdom he is one day to rule. Good afternoon to you gentlemen, I shall speak of it as soon as he returns." Balin stated as he got to his feet, taking the crown in hand again. "I am most certain he will be glad for the time."

 

 

\----

 

 

"No."

 

"Dwalin! I haven't even finished the proposal, you cannot simply wrinkle your nose and reject any idea that is not even rounded before you." Balin harrumphed with a huffy shove of hands on his hips. "I thought it would be good for you to get away for a while."

 

"Oh aye, I see. I refuse to wear the cooling crown of my fathers brow and now you wish to send me away." Dwalin growled as he pulled a cotton, loosely strung shirt back over his broadness and snatched a glass of wine from a servant who quickly hurried out of the room. "I leave for a few hours to clear my head and you pack my bags and ship me off to our cousins, is that it?"

 

"No, Dwalin, that was not my intention at all!" Balin protested and Dwalin tossed the glass now empty from it's liquor across the room. "I only wish for you to see that becoming king as not as bad as you believe. I wrote a letter to Thorin, in three days you're to attend to his residents, or you're not. However, know that if you do not you will be breaking not only my heart, but the heart of the kingdom."

 

Dwalin snarled and marched out of the room and into his bedroom with a huff, sitting on his bed instantly and staring at the crown that his brother had strategically placed on his pillow. He growled again and clawed the silver snare from his bed and it clattered heavily to the floor, the gems becoming dirtied on his dusty floor. He sighed and for a while closed his eyes, but when he opened them again he saw the crown glistening at him, tempting him toward it.

 

He slumped to the floor, lifting the crown to his eyes and seeing his own reflection in the silver surface, bearing all the truth to his reality. His eyes were rimmed red from unshed tears and his face pale and sunken in grief. His father, as strict and gruff as he was, was all Dwalin had ever wanted to be, he was all Dwalin had ever known and respected. Now he was gone, leaving the empty shell of his son in his grave. 

 

Dwalin called a servant and instructed them to give an agreeable reply to his brothers demands, not too agreeable though, he demanded. Then, he slept.

 

 

\---- 

 

 

_Fundin ran at his young sons side, a small pup with an overly large snout and terrible paws that caused him to trip and tumble at every step. A young Dwalin Durinson. Fundin stripped of his fur and grew back to a man, while Dwalin did at his side._

_"You see that there, son?" Fundin asked as he pointed a young and confident finger to the far north. "A great and noble kingdom all around us, and one day a small bit will be yours."_

_  
"All mine?" The young Dwalin asked as he looked around the edge of the cliff face._

_"Aye, it'll be you and your cousins land to share as good and honest men." Fundin replied as he patted his boy on the shoulder and ruffled his dark curls. "A great trio of warriors, I am certain."_

_"Who owns those darkened woods then? Surely it is uncle Groin, yes?" Young Dwalin asked as he stepped closer to the edge and squinted to see the shadowy distance._

_"Nay. Those lands belong to the outsiders, the feral kind. They're not to be welcomed or trusted, my Dwalin. They're travelling vermin, and one day you'll take care of them just as I do now." The younger Fundin removed his crown and placed it upon his boys head. "One day you will bare this crown, my son."_

_Dwalin removed the crown and say his reflection. The reflection of a bright and hopeful boy who was gifted with the strength of men far beyond his few summers of life._

_"One day, you will be a noble king."_

_"I won't let you down father."_

_Fundin grinned and ruffled his sons hair again before taking back his silver crown._

_"That's my boy."_

 

Dwalin woke with a gasp. His sheets drenched wet with his cold sweat and his chest rising and falling with worried pants, he clutched his chest, praying the pain would pass. It had been so long since he had such nightmares, the only memory of such being when he was an easily frightened youth that would crawl to his parents bed at night to chase the cursed dreams away. Now, there was no one. No one soft and kind and warm at his side to fight away all that haunted Dwalin, even in his dreams.

 

The young king-to-be fell back onto his pillow with a huff and forced his eyes closed, hoping that no other dreams would come to him that night and he would be left alone in his lonely, darkened, sleep.

 

It was only a few days later that Dwalin had a single bag packed and a horse that would carry him steadily toward Erebor, to an ivory depth of new worry and judgement. 

 

Balin had wished him luck on his travels that morning before any but his self and his advisers were awake, the elderly council only grumbled about the hour being too early and nodded their heads to bade Dwalin goodbye.

 

Dwalin began to force the horse into a trot our of the wooden gates of his fathers kingdom, never once looking back.

 

 

\----

 

 

Dwalin was welcomed humbly and joyously into Erebor, the loyal guards of the king greeted him at the gates, put his horse to a stable and then escorted him to the chambers of waiting, where he was told Thorin would come meet him after his meetings for the day was finished.

 

It wasn't all waiting though, for as soon as the clocks stuck the gong of noon, a small and golden haired man entered. He held a tray of food in his hand and a tea pot in the other.

 

"Dwalin, I only just received the note that you arrived!" Bilbo exclaimed as he hurried into the room. "Excuse me for my rudeness, had I known sooner I would have come straight down."

 

Dwalin said nothing, only staring at Bilbo's swollen middle as the smaller man fussed about lunch and getting nourishment. Dwalin stood after a while to help him, lifting a heavier tray out of the way so Bilbo could organise the cups and the teapot. 

 

"I am so sorry to hear of your loss, Dwalin." Bilbo stated as he wrapped his arm around the larger mans shoulders and gave him a comforting hug. A tiny sympathetic kick from the little one within Bilbo reacted at the same time against Dwalin's strong abdomen and he felt a lump for in his throat. He had been tremendously happy when Thorin met his mate on that rainy day by the shore, but some days the small man remained as a reminder that Dwalin had yet to find a mate of his own, and how he was truly so lonely in the world now. The small man pulled out of the hug and placed his hand to the curve of his belly and rubbed it slightly to soften the kicking. "Are you well?"

 

"As well as anyone can be during these times." Dwalin replied fleetingly and Bilbo smiled gently.

 

"I lost my own parents when I was young two. With this little one insider of me, I found my memories of them slipping." Bilbo commented as he continued to rub his middle. "I know they remain though, in my heart."

 

"I do not know where my father remains."

 

"Your heart?"

 

"What heart?"

 

"Oh come now, Dwalin." Bilbo huffed as he carefully lowered himself to the sofa, a concerned looking Dwalin helping him gently sit. "I know you as I know my Thorin and as I know myself. You seem and act all gruff and grim, but honestly, you're just as soft as my husband and I am sure just as charming."

 

"I wouldn't be so sure." Dwalin replied stiffly and Bilbo shrugged, pouring them both some tea and passing Dwalin the small porcelain cup.

 

"I am certain by the time you leave, you will view yourself far differently." Bilbo stated and took a sip from the tea. Dwalin despised the leafy broth that both Bilbo and his brother seemed to have an infatuation for, but he never let on. He took a measured sip from the cup, just enough so Bilbo wouldn't be offended but not enough to actually taste it. 

 

"So how is he then? My brother and you- your child..." Dwalin asked carefully, unsure if he really wanted to know the last part of the question. "Are they... well?"

 

"As well as ever." Bilbo replied as he placed his cup down and placed his hands excitedly to his belly. "My doctor tells me the child is growing good and strong and Thorin is much the same, though I think he is getting soft in his paternal role."

 

"Ha, my cousin turning soft? These are strange times indeed." Dwalin snorted and Bilbo smiled brightly.

 

"I agree. Do you recall his proposal to courtship with me? He was quite... how do you say, straightforward?"

 

"Indeed." Dwalin replied in the fond memory and chuckled despite himself.

 

 

\----

 

 

The rest of the days seemed rolled on quite peacefully. Dwalin was left to do as he wished and had spent some time in the markets and the royal wing, trying to pick up scents in hope that his one would just appear to him in radiant life and the sounds of bells. It never happened. He busied himself with helping Bilbo, who was trying to knit the unborn baby a small hat to where as the palace become quite chill in later months. Even though, Dwalin did try his hardest to help, Bilbo gave him the simple task to not touch anything and to just sit and hold the yarn ball. He has also spent time sitting in on debates with Thorin and trying to get his mind away from everything. 

 

He felt as though he was warming up to this idea of being king. Thorin didn't make it appear too strenuous, all that was needed with a good set of eyes and ears and a compassionate heart. A good set of muscles helped too, as Dwalin had seen Thorin on many occasions throw sceptical councillors and overly preachy men from his court.

 

On the last day of Dwalin's visit, he had sat with Thorin for a few moments before having to hurry off to open court, which Dwalin decided was probably the best way to spend him time. The open court was held in a large room, filled with stacks of chairs at both sides of the room, to leave space for pleading folk to come and consult the king on their problems. Dwalin knew one day he would have to do this too in his own kingdom, just as his father did.

 

_"Furthermore, Your Highness, there is just no way to keep the ferals contained any longer, they shall surely grown tired of their wastelands and revolt."_

_A young Dwalin sat at the foot of is fathers throne, playing with his wooden figures of horses and warriors while the lesser folk spoke to his father of their worries. Balin even stood at the kings side making notes of the problems, possibly for his father to review later and show their mother the thought he was putting in._

_"Now sir, there is no need to cause such distress." Fundin waved the man off with his a calloused hand. "I will send my finest guards and men to consider the borders of the land and will return to you with my decree."_

_"Thank you, good king, you're as noble as you're thoughtful."_

_The young Dwalin looked up at his father and his father looked back at him with a fond grin._

_"Dwalin..."_

_"Dwalin?"_

 

"Dwalin!" 

 

Dwalin blinked a few times and looked down at Thorin, who had a brow raised and even Bilbo was looking at him in a concerned way.

 

"Aye?" Dwalin replied and Thorin directed a hand toward the man in the centre of court who was wringing his hands together.

 

"What do you say to Mister Davenchore about his proposal for more feral traps near your borders?" Thorin repeated and Dwalin blinked again to clear the vision of his father from his eyes.

 

"I say, indeed. My father, as many of you may know, has passed away. His main priority was to keep him people and my kingdom safe, and I can assure you Master Davenchore there is no reason for distress, I will send my best men to see it done." Dwalin promised and the man let out a relieved breath.

 

"Thank you, King Dwalin. You're noble indeed."

 

Dwalin's chest seemed to lift at the name. The people back in his kingdom would call him the young prince, the boy, the lad, the soon-to-be-king. They never saw him as a King, but now, now they seemed to. Dwalin smiled.

 

"It is my pleasure, sir."

 

The pleased Mister Davenchore hurried out of the court as did Dwalin only a few moments later. He knew what he needed to do now, he needed to return to his people, he needed to place the crown atop his head and take his place as the rightful king, he needed to be the man his father always wanted him to be.

 

But how?

 

How could he be all these things and still be Dwalin? How could he fulfil the great rule that his father left behind him? How could he be a better king? How could he find a graceful mate to be at his side as he ruled the land? Dwalin did not know.

 

It was late when Dwalin walked through the garden, rubbing his throbbing temples as he tried to think. A painful and admittedly unused exercise that he never resorted to often. Dwalin wondered if he could write to Balin and request a few more days, hoping to grab control of his mind and ideas and maybe meet a fine Omega that he could settle down with. But it was late, and his brother expected his return on the morrow. 

 

Dwalin continued to rub his head until he heard the sound of hushed footsteps around the garden, it would not be unnatural for servants to be milling around at this free time in their schedule, but the boots sounded heavy to Dwalin's sensitive ears. Dwalin placed his and over the hilt of his sword that was tucked securely in its hold. 

 

"Who's there?" Dwalin called into the darkness. "Show yourselves!" 

 

Nothing stirred, but the heavy footsteps stopped and Dwalin narrowed his eyes in the dark in an attempt to see better, but he could see no further than beyond his crooked nose.

  
Dwalin growled threateningly toward the hidden follower, hoping that the sound would frighten them away. He removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and continued to walk.

 

Footsteps followed his own in the darkness of the night.

 

Dwalin turned and withdrew his sword but he was unprepared by the crushing blow of four large alpha men charging at him, and then tackling him to the ground. Dwalin growled as he fought against the hands that grabbed and pulled him, while his attackers shouted and called to one another the grab Dwalin's elbow and make him drop his sword. The others fumbled to tie the enraged princes hands behind his back and wrestle him to the floor. Dwalin roared in rage, feeling his wolf form scratching at his skin and demanding to be released, but even after he attacked the men, he was too close to the palace and to other servants who might be unfortunate enough to get in his way. He would not hurt innocent people.

 

"What are you doing!" A voice of a man screamed. "Put him out!"

 

Dwalin snapped at them again and finally broke free of the attackers grips, pushing away freely as he set to ran. However, as he turned he collided with the tip of a poisoned blade straight into his torso, causing Dwalin to cry out and continue to fight away, his limbs growing weak and cold as he ran and eventually fell to the floor as his vision blurred and his heart beat sped up painfully. The pack eventually caught up with the crawling prince and one shoved his head straight down with the blunt end of a book.

 

"Say goodnight, big fella."

 

Dwalin could only snarl one more time before he fell completely into a heap on the floor and his vision went black as his mind fell into the abyss of sleep.

 

 

\----

 

 

Dwalin's eyes rolled and twitched within his skull as he woke, a sharp pain tugging at his ribs and a faint and unfamiliar scent was drifiting through the air. The scent of a distressed Omegas. Dwalin sat up slowly, rubbing his aching head and looking himself over to find he had been left with by, who he now assumed were robbers, nothing but a thin unlaced cotton shirt and the leather trousers he worse under his find tunics and bottoms. Dwalin groaned slightly before getting to his feet to look around, noticing a stream running nearby beneath the dense trees and glittered in the low sun of dawn. He ran to the flowing water and shoved his face in the cold water, sipping in some of the fresh water to quench his dry mouth.

 

"Hey, let go!"

 

"That's mine!"

 

"Leave them alone!"

 

"You won't get away with this! My papa is the high lord of the forewalkers!" 

 

Dwalin looked up and wiped his face clear of the cool water to see a group of young children being shoved around by a group of large Alpha and Beta bandits, who were snatching buckets and sacks of freshly gathered food from the group of children. Dwalin quickly waded across the stream and ducked behind a tree to listen and as he peeked around the side he saw him. A young, lightly freckled, red haired Omega who was fighting with another bandit and pushing him away as the darkly dressed man grabbed him everywhere.

 

"Get your hands off me before I cut them off!" The Omega hissed as he shoved the rowdy and rough looking bandit away when he tried to grab his rear end. Dwalin had to restrain a growl, before the small man flicked upon a blade and pointed it at the man.

 

"I think we should take this one too, lads!" The bandit cackled. "He'll make us a pretty penny on the market."

 

"Just grab the food, Zacurra." Another bandit sighed exasperatedly as he threw aside a small and fighting boy, who he had by the scruff of his shirt. "Think of anything but your knot for a change."

 

Dwalin narrowed his eyes while the young Omega snarled at the attackers and hid the little ones behind his back, even if he was sweetly thin but still softly curved at the hip. The small man looked ferociously mad and held a blade up threateningly, even if there was not much else he could do.

 

A bandit grabbed a small girl who tried to wriggle by and get at least something from the bags they were being robbed of. She was caught and held up by her soft red scarf that she wore about her head. The Omegas sharpened face fell instantly as he heard the little one cry out, he lowered his blade.

 

"No, no please! Leave her be, you have what you want. You have all the food we have, just let the little one go." The Omega pleaded as he ran toward the young girl to help her down, but was held back by a thick armed thief.

 

"I don't know, small petite hands, good for cutting vegetables." A bandit teased as he eyed the little ones hands. "What do you think boss?"

 

"Oh aye, definitely." Another one in a darkened hood sneered and Dwalin had had quite enough. He leapt from the shadows and wrenched the 'boss' arm around behind his back and had the other one wrapped around his neck.

 

"I believe," Dwalin snarled as he began to tighten his hold on the bosses neck. "The lad asked you to let the little girl go."

 

The bandits were surprised by the sudden appearance of the tall and muscled man. They were even more surprised by the alpha scent that radiated off him as he snarled at them. The boss gave a look to his henchman who quickly released the red hooded girl and caused her to scramble over to the young Omega who was watching with confused and wondering eyes and Dwalin pulled the bosses head back further to whisper in his ear.

 

"Now, listen to me. You take your men and leave." Dwalin growled. "Leave the food and all you took from these good people and you go, do you understand me? Leave. Or you'll force my hand."

 

Dwalin emphasised his final words by wrenching the mans arm further up his back, listening with a giddy type of glee as it popped from the wretched mans socket. He threw the man back by his busted arm into the stream, listening to the man gasp out in shock. He got to his feet a few moments later and ran with his arm cradled, his men running quickly behind him.

 

When Dwalin turned back around, he saw the Omega eyeing him wearily, his knife twisting nervously in his hand. The children cowered behind the younger man and Dwalin was about to say something, anything, that would make him appear less tyrannical, but as he opened his mouth the adrenaline and alpha rage he had been feeling began to wear off, leaving only dizziness. Dwalin swayed on unsteady feet for a moment before falling against a tree, his arm keeping him up before his legs grew weak and his mind turned black again as he fell to the floor.

 

 

\----

 

 

Bilbo paced around his and Thorin's shared chamber, rubbing his rounded middle nervously as he waited for his husband to return with news. He had seen Dwalin leave after court last night, but he had not returned for supper or breakfast that morning. He had gone to Dwalin's room and it had been bare of all signs of the King-to-be and the horse Dwalin had arrived on was gone, leaving only traces of hooves in the night and the idea that the young prince had fled in the night, leaving all Kingly responsibility and duty behind.

 

The door rattled open on its hinges as it opened and Bilbo stopped pacing to look at his husband. Thorin looked shocked and ashamed that his cousin had run away in the night, especially with so many trusting him and now relying on him.

 

Thorin growled and marched to the other side of the room to pour a drink, taking a sip as he began cursing his cousin.

 

"It is cowardly! Complete and utter cowardliness, especially after promising that man in court yesterday that he would fix the kingdom and stop the feral people retuning. I lost my father young, and my brother too! Yet, I am still in rule. I faced it like a man, as he should too." Thorin complained as he took a long drink of the amber liquor. Bilbo remained rubbing his middle as if it would reveal to him the answer, but he was just as silent as Thorin was.

 

"I do not think Dwalin would leave. He is many things Thorin, yes. But he is not a coward, he is not a snake. He would not-"

  
"Are you saying he just disappeared then?" Thorin questioned sceptically, and Bilbo shrugged slightly.

 

"No. I am only saying that maybe you're too quick to label him fearful, maybe there is something or someone greater to fear."

 

"And maybe the feral will cross our borders and ruin the country again. The world cannot rely on maybes, Bilbo." Thorin commented before placing his glass down. "It must rely on fact, and the fact is that Dwalin is gone, and we do not know if he will return."

 

 

\----

 

 

Dwalin woke with a shout as cold water was dumped over him. He had been stripped of his clothes and now a group of elderly ladies huffed and fussed as they washed him, in far too intimate places that caused Dwalin to yelp and protest.

 

"Please, please I can wash myself. Ladies, please." Dwalin protested and heard shrill giggles, he looked up to see the youngest girl he saved and two other young ladies looking at him through a rip in the weak and old tent. The young Omega boy he had also seen earlier was there, hiding a laugh into his hand. 

 

Dwalin blushed brightly and tried to cover his lower half with a rag, but it was far too small and had all kinds of worn down holes in it. 

 

The young omega suddenly shuffled inside with the small children and the rip was quickly tugged further apart as a hefty and grey haired man entered, followed by two younger looking men. A plump grey haired Beta, carrying a selection of simply clothes, and a wispy brown haired Beta who carried only a smirk.  

 

"Let me through, ladies." The man bellowed. "I wish to see him!"

 

The elderly women parted with clucks and huffs and Dwalin tried to hide himself again, his skin radiating with heat from his blush.

 

"Welcome, my boy! You're most welcome here! I am Rinolin and my people greet you kindly, you have saved our harvest and our youngest ones." The large man said pleased with the young Alpha, while the elderly Beta slapped the clothes into his arms. "I hope they fit you my boy. It was quite difficult to find clothes in the village that were to your size, with you being as... toned, as you are. A nasty little cut you have on your middle too, don't fear my men will see to that."

 

Dwalin said nothing and began pulling the undergarments on and then the baggy shirt. The hefty man continued to talk as he dressed.

 

"As I say, you saved our little ones and the apple of my eye, my own little one." The large man cooed and Dwalin looked up to see the young Omega rolling his eyes and sighing. "Tell me lad, where is it you're from and how came you by here?"

 

"I do not know. I am of the main kingdoms, but I do not know how I came to be here. Where am I, may I ask?"

 

"Why, my boy, you're in the outer lands! We're travelling folk and we welcome you to stay for as long as you wish. Unless you have something of importance you wish to return to at home." The man gave a subtle wink and Dwalin found himself grimacing.

 

He should go home. He knows that, but he also knows now that there are men out to cause him harm and to get him to hurt, and he should remain out of their sights for as long as possible and hope they would not hurt his brother or rampage his kingdom. He had to stay away for as long as he can, and write to Balin when he is ready.

 

"Da," The grey haired Beta finally spoke up with a small frown on his face. "He is from the mainland, as such he must be executed for trespassing." 

 

"Now, now, Dori. He is a great hero and should be honoured with a dinner tonight! I am sure allowances can be made."

 

"If I may speak. My name is Dwalin Daknio and I have no home to speak of now. I am a rouge." Dwalin replied, trying to sound as honest as possible. 

 

"As am I, my boy. As are we all." The man replied before patting Dwalin heavily on the back, causing him to fall forward slightly by the sudden impact. The elderly leader turned a moment later to the young Omega and gave a soft smile.

 

"Ori, will you come help me prepare for the nights feast? You may bring your... entourage with you." Rinolin asked with a fond smile as the small girls around the young Omegas legs giggled and looked at each other before looking up at the omega who shrugged before following their obvious pack leader. 

 

Dwalin's eyes couldn't help but follow the line of the young Omegas walk as he ducked out of the tent, and Dwalin smiled despite himself. The eldest, Dori as Dwalin had picked up from the elder mans speech, cut in front of Dwalin's vision and growled warningly before following the small group that had just left. Dwalin assumed the elder Beta was the young Omegas mate by the protective glares he was aiming at Dwalin as he eyed the fine young thing, it made sense really that they would be mated. Dwalin let his hopes fall slightly before looking over to the brunet man who had not said a word, still wearing the same fox-like grin.

 

"Can I help you?" Dwalin asked gruffly and the man shrugged.

 

"We'll see." The man replied before stepping toward the open exit of the tent. "My name is Nori, just to be clear and I don't like your kind. We will see though, see who you are, see what we are. Seeing is reality, sir."

 

The man - Nori - then swept out of the tent and Dwalin frowned slightly before pulling over his tunic that had been given to him. It was a long and woven with many colours. Dwalin looked at the thing in mild disgust before pushing the feelings aside and stepping out of the tent and into the setting sun of day. 

 

The camp was not too large. It was clear that this section of the forest had been dug out of tree roots and stumps as many were still scattered around the area as places to sit for the elderly and for the young. Many of the young children simply ran around the camp, playing their adolescent games while the teens and young adults busied themselves with making weapons or weaving baskets. A large fire was already being made up between the rows of soft, fluttering tents in the centre of the site. Back in Dwalin's kingdom, they had strong and sturdy huts for all, that could last all winds and weathers, whereas these tents appeared to be able to fall down with the slightest breath of wind. However, despite all this, it felt peaceful. Almost as though the people were safe in their cut off parts of the world, they were feral folk, Dwalin knew that as fact. But they were not those he had come in contact with before, they were civilised and peace loving folk. Then Dwalin began to wonder, just how many of those he had killed before had been like these people, if they had little families and communities. He felt ill.

 

 

\----

 

 

It didn't take long for the sun to completely set and leave the camp in the warm glow of the fire they had set up in the centre of the land. Dwalin entered just as the true pack began to sit down, he hesitated behind the flowing tents for a moment, now realising just how many people there were and he swallowed thickly. He felt a tug at the bottom of his tunic and looked down. Wide brown eyes looked up at him and a soft smile appeared behind the red scarf the young girl wore around her head, keeping her braided hair secure.

 

"Will you sit with me, Mister Stranger?" The little girl asked and Dwalin thought for a moment, while the round brown eyes pleaded with him.

 

"Aye, if you wish." 

 

The small girl smiled brightly before skipping ahead of Dwalin and sitting down beside some other young children who were all giggling or staring at Dwalin with awe. Dwalin only then realised he was sat amongst the children's part of the circle and couldn't hold back a cringe as the adults glared at him. He rubbed his forehead in embarrassment before lifting his head to peer across the fire, where a softly smiling Omega sat, the very same one he had saved that day.

 

He had not asked the young mans name and he truly yearned to know it. To feel the vowels caress his tongue and see the mans beautiful and gentle smile when he said it. The small man was kind and good, that was certain, and surely with such a face he would be pure. However, what Dwalin had seen that morning had been the beginning of his enticement. The young man was brave, perhaps stupidly so, and could handle himself. He was like no Omega Dwalin had ever met before and Dwalin wanted to meet him and know if that fierceness was also deeper than his freckled skin. 

 

The young man raised his wooden chalice to his lips, never breaking heated eye contact as he took a long sip and Dwalin flushed slightly before raising his own and taking a similar sip. When the young Omega pulled his cup away he smiled and held it for what felt like the longest time wile Dwalin continued to blush and sip at his drink.

 

"My people!" A familiar voice suddenly bellowed and Dwalin choked slightly on his drink, shoving it to the side as he coughed and spluttered. He didn't need to look across the fire again to know the young Omega was laughing at him. "Let us be thankful for the excellent harvest this year, and thankful for our health and right among this land. May we also be thankful to this young man, Mister Dwalin Daknio, who saved our harvest and our hopes for our future. We will honour him tonight and for as long as he wishes to stay."

 

Rinolin nodded to Dwalin and Dwalin returned it with a respectful bow of his head. 

 

"Now, let us eat friends and celebrate this glorious day!" 

 

 

\----

 

 

Dwalin could not find a place to sleep later, the only bed he had for the night would be the dirt beneath him and the stars above as his cover. Since the people had only what they needed, that meant they only had enough tents for their families and pack and not for visitors. Dwalin knew they had many huts back home that were empty, just in case lords or Thorin and his mate came to visit. The Alpha was now laid outside of camp, on the edge of the forest beneath a tree for added protection, he lay with his arms tucked behind his head as a pillow and stared up at the sky. He did not hear the soft footsteps approach, until he heard them stop just at the edge of his feet. 

 

Dwalin looked up and scrambled to sit instantly as he saw soft brown eyes watching him and amber curls of hair falling over skin that was as pale as the stars in the sky above. 

 

"Hello." The small man greeted and Dwalin shivered slightly at the sound of the mans silky voice as he looked up at them,his jaw slung open and his eyes wide. The small man shuffled slightly uncomfortably, looking up at the sky. "It's mighty cold tonight."

 

Dwalin knew he had to talk. He had to speak, to say something, to say anything that didn't make him look like he was a complete mad man. Balin used to tell him that as a boy he would never be quiet, even in his sleep he would talk, then why was his tongue suddenly so heavy and why was his throat so tight?

 

The young man looked back at him and smiled slightly, tilting his head.

 

"Are you well? Has your tongue and mind frozen in this cold?" The young Omega teased and Dwalin's mind finally caught up with him as he swung to his feet and realised just how much shorter the smaller man was.

 

"No, no I'm not frozen, I was just taken aback by - by someone being all the way out here, I - I wouldn't say it was safe out here for you. You being as-" Dwalin motioned to the Omega and around his curves slightly before choking out another line in a hope to find himself. "You as your are."

 

"Thank you, I suppose." The small man replied with a slight shrug. "It is not dangerous as long as I stay within the forest line, that's my father's and my brother Dori's rule."

 

"You- your brother?" Dwalin mumbled out and the small Omega nodded. "He's you brother."

 

"Yes." The omega replied and Dwalin had to continue the sudden relief he felt in that fact. "He is quite angry this evening. I suggested you slept within our tent tonight, but he seemed displeased with this suggestion. My father said as much also, he is going to pull you up a tent for tomorrow and you may decorate it how you like."

 

"You - You suggested I shared the lords tent for the night?" Dwalin questioned, ignoring the second half of the young man's sentence as his ears focused only on the fact he had tried being hospitable to him.

 

"Yes, why wouldn't I?" The small man asked rhetorically. "You saved the children and my peoples food... and me."

 

"Well, It- it was not a difficult choice, I'll say that." Dwalin replied awkwardly and the small one smiled as he giggled slightly.

 

"Oh, I almost forgot." The small man said as he pulled a patchwork blanket from around his shoulder, that Dwalin had honestly not even seen until the small man began to tug it off his shoulders. "I brought this for you. It is quite chilly out here and I wouldn't want you to freeze. Do not tell my brothers though, they'll be awfully mad."

 

"Oh, thank you." Dwalin replied and the small man turned to leave, and Dwalin considered letting him go, but then his mouth opened and the words slipped out. "What is your name? You must know mine, but I am hopelessly clueless on yours. My names Dwalin."

 

The small man stopped before turning around to face Dwalin, a confused crinkle in his brow.

 

"Shouldn't an Alpha ask the Omega's father, permission before asking his name? That is awfully rude of you, Mister Dwalin." The small omega teased and Dwalin swallowed thickly, his head lowered in shame and his hands wringing around the blanket.

 

"I'm sorry, I - I did not know the rules of your people, I am-"

 

"Ori."

 

"Pardon?"

 

"My name is Ori." The small omega said again and Dwalin tested it on his lips, the soft vowel rolling from his tongue and filling the air.

 

"Goodnight sir."

 

"Goodnight... Ori." 

 

Ori smiled at him a final time before striding away and back toward a soft cotton tent, waving back at the alpha before ducking inside and Dwalin smiled for flopping back down onto the dirt, curling around the blanket as he did.

 

 

\---- 

 

 

The pale man slinked through the maze of buildings, sliding eventually between a darkened crevice between two huts. A hooded figure stood there already, rubbing their long hands together to fend from the cold.

 

"Is it done?" The slim man hissed and the pale one nodded.

 

"He is in the forest, too far for any to find." The pale man replied and the slim man pulled down his darkened hood.

 

"Good. And you're certain he will not return?"

 

"I am certain."

 

The slim man only grinned and nodded.

 

"You've done well, let us go, be here by dusk the following night and we will secure our plans."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Tell me what you think??))


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of time jumping and a few sentimental moments...

Dwalin woke the next day with a startled snort, scratching the beginning forms of stubble as he sat up with a groan, wrenching open his tired eyes as he stretched. When he did, he was greeted with the now colourful sight of the camp, in the evening sun and the blazes of lasts night fire, everything was faded into an orange glow that made Dwalin feel isolated from the still unsure people around him. Now, however, was the welcoming light of day, the soft blues, whites and lilacs of the tents and their throws of easily removed cotton, Dwalin knew of the clan being outsiders, and as such he knew it was expected of them to be moving constantly under fear of being found so close to the borders, and then dealt with by himself and his company of guards. Dwalin knew that perhaps he had once attacked this tribe that came close to his borders, or perhaps it was just the guilt he felt with every pair of eyes that rested upon him as he woke, his bed mat still pushed to the furthest edge of the camp.

 

 

Dwalin looked up when he heard a throat being cleared and gazed upon a small girl, seemingly smiling beneath the brown hood that swallowed most of her head and face, letting Dwalin only see bright brown eyes twinkling at him.

 

"Can I help you?" Dwalin asked and the little girl shook her head and Dwalin hummed before fiddling with the blankets and attempting to fold them into bundles to pack them away. The girl remained at his side. So he spoke again. "Are your parents around?"

 

"My Papa's not around any more, and my Ma is at breakfast." The girl stated reassuringly and Dwalin made a slightly surprised sound at the confession before nodding once, showing his understanding as the girl spoke again. "My name is Shoshana and Mister Ori told me to get you this."

 

The little girl passed Dwalin a pile of worn, beaten, and sharply starched clothes. Dwalin only nodded in thanks and pulled off his shirt, replacing it with the clean feeling garment the girl had presented him with. The small girl continued standing at his side with a soft smile on her face, and as Dwalin finished pulling on his shirt he gave the girl the one brow raise in question.

 

"Is there anything else you wanted?" Dwalin asked and the girl nodded.

 

"Lord Rinolin said he wanted to see you before breakfast," The girl said quickly before yanking on his sleeve pleadingly. "Will you sit with me then?"

 

Dwalin considered it for a moment, standing up in his so called bed as he stretched and pulled on his new trousers, clicking his metal belt, that he had found at the landing of his abduction, around his waist.

 

"Aye, I'll sit with you. After I see the lord, of course."

 

"Thank you, Mister!" The girl shrieked before hurrying off. Dwalin watched with a slanted smile as the little thing scampered away before tucking the rest of his nightclothes and bed into a cloth bag.

 

The large man paused for a moment and cracked his sleep tightened neck and creaking bones before walking into the thriving camp. The people were already awake and bustling around the camp, carrying buckets of water and baskets of fresh food for the morning meal. Boys were gathering the sheep and cows with buckets of wheat for feed and the girls followed with blades of corn to tap the rears of the animals and keep them moving.

 

Dwalin skirted his way around the people, shuffling and excusing himself as he made his way to the large tent that was centre to the busy land. When he reached the front curtain that took shape as a door, he stopped for a moment and considered his next course of action. He wondered if he should just walk in, no announcement or moment of hesitation. Then he considered knocking, on what he did not know, or at least announce his presence as he did not yet know the rules of this land and could not fit them to the land of his own people. He continued standing by the door, glaring at the fluttering lilac before he sighed and shoved his hand forward to open the soft sheets. Only finding that the sheets moved apart as he stumbled forward and into the surprised arms of the omega Ori he had gazed upon yesterday.

 

"Oh gods, excuse me - I - I didn't mean to fall at you-" Dwalin quickly stumbled, only finding now that the ridges in his metal belt, that he was able to find in the woods after his abduction, was now tightly tingled in the many bare threads of Ori's cotton shirt. "Oh, I am so sorry, lad. I'll jus- If I can just-"

 

Dwalin fumbled with belt and shirt in an attempt to detach himself as he cursed himself for being such a clumsy meat-head. Meanwhile, Ori was laughing to himself about the whole display at the fussing alpha right in front of him.

 

"No, it's alright honestly. Accidents happen, here let me just-" Ori didn't finish his sentence before his hands swept forward and unclipped Dwalin's belt, causing the alpha to become completely still and had he not found the whole scenario hilarious, Ori was sure he would be just as still and twice as brightly blushed as the alpha.

 

Ori placed the lose ends of the belts in Dwalin's hand and plucked at the threads that joined them until he was free and at the end he smiled up at the alpha and Dwalin continued to make an embarrassed grimace. 

 

"And just what is going on here?" A chilling voice asked and both omega and alpha turned to see Dori, hands on hips and looking completely red with annoyance at the sight of the unbelted alpha and his younger brother together. Dwalin seemed to realise the scene he certainly made and fumbled to click his belt back on. Ori just sighed and turned to his brother, with arms folded across his chest.

 

"Nothing, brother. Mister Dwalin only got his belt caught on my tunic, and I freed him. That is all." Ori recited and Dori hummed before raising an eyebrow.

 

"Go get washed for breakfast, and see that everyone is seated. We'll be out in a moment." Dori ordered and Ori hesitated for a moment, looking between Dwalin and Dori as he let out a sigh and ducked out of the tent.

 

Dwalin followed the smaller ones stepping for a moment with his eyes before they snapped back quickly to Dori who was still scowling at him, and after several agonising long moments of silence, Dwalin finally spoke.

 

"I came here to see Master-"

 

"I don't care what you came here for, nor do I care how you came to be here to begin with. Your outsider stench stings my nose, I do not enjoy the presence of you mainland mutts to begin with-"

 

"I can say the feeling is mutual." Dwalin growled, trying to keep his temper in order but failing a bit when the other man seemed to grow more red, on the brink of purple.

 

"Listen to me, and listen well hound. I care for my people, for the children here, in our safe keeping. I care for my brothers and my father, even if his judgement can lapse at time. So I am warning you now, cur. If you place so much as an elbow out of place, then you will be trialled and executed faster than you can speak in that filthy third-land tongue of yours. Am I clear?" Dori demanded and Dwalin breathed deeply for a few moments before nodding stiffly once. Satisfied with the answer, Dori pointed to the third curtain veiled room of the rounded tent.

 

"My father is working there, see that you do not disturb him long." With that, Dori turned and strode back into another room that Dwalin got glimpse at for a moment was a lined hallway with all three rooms. The rooms of the brothers. Dwalin could only imagine what waited behind the third curtain on the far left side, but he pushed it back into his mind and marched toward the office door.

 

Dwalin paused again for a moment, considering his etiquette again before just sighing and pushing into the room, finding instantly the alpha lord Rinolin sat at his desk with a broken pair of hexagonal spectacles set on the bridge of is old, curved nose.

 

"Ah, my boy! Come, come sit, come and know me better son!" Rinolin exclaimed eagerly as he directed his hand to a seat opposite his own for Dwalin to sit at. Dwalin couldn't help but notice that everything in the room had been broken or torn at one point at their long lives, but all the objects had been lovely put back together. On his desk, the great lord had pictures of his sons, some more pretentious ink paintings of the formal kind and more paintings of memories and joyful times within the family. Dwalin also noticed a portrait of a young maid on the desk, smiling softly with two plump young boys on her lap, one with a toothy wide grin and the other looking quite still and proper on the maids lap. 

 

"You're interested in my pictures, I see." Rinolin said after a few moments and Dwalin nodded slightly as the lord picked up the closest framed family portrait. "My youngest boy is a brilliant artist, as his mother was. I am more of a military and logical mind you see, like my two eldest sons. My wife and my boy hold gifted beauty in themselves."

 

Dwalin said nothing as the lord passed him the small painting, all coloured inks made by chalk and dyes found in the natural world. It was not like anything Dwalin had seen before, back in his kingdom and Thorin's land the portraits were all blackened ink and darkened light, this was new and Dwalin found himself smiling before clearing his throat and placing the framed painting back on the desk.

 

"You wished to see me, Master Rinolin."

 

"Hmm, oh, oh yes I did! Sorry lad, excuse my old ramblings." Rinolin stated before folding his hands in front of him on his desk. "Well lad, since you proposed you were staying here I just wished to know what your trade is."

 

"My trade?" Dwalin questioned with a raised brow.

 

"Aye, your title, your working level back in your land." Rinolin explained and Dwalin hummed in understanding.

 

"Well, my mother was a tracker and harvester, but my father was a hunter and a captain. I have skills of the trade from both. I was a soldier though, where I came from, a commander in my fleet." Dwalin recited ignoring the feeling of missing home that ignited in his chest as he spoke of his mother and father.

 

"Ah, a guardsman then!" Rinolin exclaimed, smiling brightly with old eyes glinting with hope. "It has been long since we had any true guards around here, we're more weavers and tradesman in my realm... It would be an honour to have you protect my people, young man. There are just a few issues around the matter."

 

"Issues?" 

 

"Aye. My people encourage a working life, starting from lower forms and working up. We go every spring to the low meadows, there is more grazing for our stock you see, and as such our young and peaked maturity alphas are expected to fight one another for titles, jobs, and mates within our pack. The losing ones will leave to join another pack, it is how we keep our lines pure. I expect you would have to join these fights too."

 

"I would? Sir, I am much past the peak of my maturity."

 

"Not to my kind. Anyway, that is not until a later date, it is ending midsummer now, and that is not for many months. Enough time for the council to discuss. Now, about your work, I have a role in mind that needs filling and it may not be within your skills but I am sure it is within your nature." 

 

Dwalin took a pause, his brow furrowed slightly before nodding once. He knew he would have to abide by the rules of the people here and more importantly the rules of the leader, he was yet to be an established alpha here and in his own kingdom he knew of others and remembered his own right of passage, even if it was simply killing a creature with his own hands.

 

"What kind of work?"

 

 

\----

 

 

Dwalin wished he had not asked. He seriously wished that as soon as the alpha lord had given him a wink and then sent him on his way those few days, he wished he had just ran. Ran back to his kingdom, assassins be damned. Anything was better than this. Anything was better than standing with the alpha lord in a field a few tens of feet away from the camp, in the middle of a clump of dopey eyed and white woolly creatures.

 

"A shepherd! You are having me on aren't you?" Dwalin asked, trying to hide his fraying frustration. "I am not a shepherd, I am a huntsman, a warrior, a gods-damned soldier."

 

"They are one in the same, are they not?" Rinolin asked with mirth in his eyes and Dwalin prayed this was just a merry joke between the lord and his own mind.

 

"Not."

 

Rinolin turned them and threw him a wooden staff, which Dwalin caught with one hand as the other one was busy trying to balance himself as the dull creatures rubbed against his leg and made softening sounds.

 

"You protect your people, all I ask of you now is to protect my peoples stock." Rinolin commented as he turned and began walking away, leaving Dwalin in a stock of fluffy white hazards. "Are you capable?"

 

"Capable, yes. Willing? Not so-"

 

"Have a nice time, young man." Rinolin said dismissively with a wave as he shuffled back to the village and Dwalin grumbled under his breath before turning to the flock and trying to wriggle free from the centre he found himself in.

 

"So, I see you got the best work then?" A voice commented from behind and Dwalin turned to find Ori, holding a matching staff to his own that he was leaning on, a content smile on his face that Dwalin scoffed at.

 

"Best work? We have very different views on what is 'best', boy." Dwalin stated coldly and usually it was enough to scare anyone away, but with Ori, the boy only shrugged slightly and continued leaning on his own staff.

 

"I cannot see anything wrong out here, fresh air, animals, and you're away from the people." Ori stated and Dwalin frowned a bit. "Quiet is quaint, as my brother says."

 

"Why are you out here?" Dwalin only asked now and Ori seemed thrown off for a moment before nodding to the neighbouring field.

 

"I'm keeping an eye on the stock." 

 

Dwalin peered over and saw cattle lining the field, all groaning with discontent as a young lady tried to push them back toward a wooden structure, as rain clouds began to gather ahead. Dwalin thought briefly of doing the same before remembering that he really didn't care.

 

"The cattle are yours then?"

 

"No, but anything is better than staring at an embroidery circle and thread for an hour." Ori commented and Dwalin furrowed his brow again.

 

"Embroidery?"

 

"Please just do not ask, my brother seems to think it is a fascinating hobby. I on the other hand prefer to be out here, looking over the valleys and listening to the birds sing." Ori commented as he practically twirled at the thought and sat atop the edge of a rock as he did, causing Dwalin to snort and follow, sitting beside him a moment later.

 

"You're an odd little thing." Dwalin stated fondly and Ori slanted a smile toward him with a nod.

 

"Thank you."

 

"It wasn't really a compliment."

 

"It wasn't really a complaint either."

 

They sat for a moment in companionable silence, simply observing everything around them before Ori decided to speak again.

 

"Will you tell me of your homeland? The mainland is it?" Ori questioned and Dwalin found himself swallowing thickly.

 

"Wha- What would you like to know?"

 

Ori shrugged.

 

"I do not know. Anything, I suppose. My father cares not for me travelling beyond the circle of our town and then to the meadows of spring, no further. This is truly as far as I can go." Ori swept a hand around them to the confined corners of the sheep's field and sighed. Dwalin gazed at the suddenly saddened boy for a moment before sighing.

 

"My kingdom is quite far from here. North, I believe, and just beyond those stony crescent hills. There are three kingdoms, belonging to three very fine Kings. King Thorin, King Oin, and King... King Balin."

 

"So many Kings." Ori added now, unsure if it was a question or not, Dwalin continued.

 

"They do not have tents, they have wooden buildings and the land is not as green as it is here. Not many things grow. The King Thorin owns the main highlands, King Oin the sea, and King Balin the woods. King Thorin has a wonderful husband, Bilbo. He's a nice lad, a little reserved and quite a bright thing. He's carrying the King's little one, you know."

 

"Oh wow, that is wonderful for them!" Ori commented now excitedly and Dwalin found himself smiling and then missing his cousin and his pregnant consort. "Every child is certainly a blessing."

 

"Indeed. However, in King Balin's land, there is great sorrow-"

 

"Why?"

 

"His father, the greatest of King's, died recently."

 

"Oh, that's awfully sad."

 

"Indeed... He-He was a good man, our King Fundin, a good man and a great king."

 

"I hope to be too, one day." Ori replied and Dwalin frowned for a moment.

 

"I thought you an Omega?"

 

"I am."

  
"Then... Who - How is it-"

 

"Oh goodness, you were doing so well." Ori sighed and rolled his eyes. "Is it so inherited that you alphas seem to think that only you're capable of ruling the land? No Omegas welcome."

 

"No, no, of course not. It's just... In my land, those are the roles of alpha."

 

"And you said the land is dark and sorrowful. All at the hands of alpha men."

 

Dwalin felt a heat of annoyance begin to scratch at his collar, but he found himself sighing and soothing himself with the long and shallow breath.

 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so questioning."

 

"And I am sorry, I did not mean to sound so irrational." Ori commented as he placed a hand to Dwalin's shoulder and rubbed slightly. "In this land, any may rule. My beta brothers before me and then myself, it only breaks if I am married to another and I join them in their kingdom, otherwise I am third in line."

 

"I can tell you now, there are better things than being a King." Dwalin spoke from his own heart and Ori giggled and nudged him a bit.

 

"What? Like being a shepherd?"

 

"Hey, you said it was the 'best work' if I recall to correct!" Dwalin protested and Ori found himself smiling fondly and resting his head against Dwalin's thick arm.

 

"I was only jesting, I do think it is the best work." Ori soothed and Dwalin hummed before nudging the smaller man himself and watching him sit up straight so they were once again eye to eye. There was a small flicker for a moment, a spark of something forbidden but thoroughly wanted that set their cores on fire.

 

"Ori... I-" Dwalin began, only to be stopped by the sudden seizing in his throat and Ori gazed at him wonderingly as he tilted his head and shuffled just the smallest bit closer.

 

"Yes... Dwalin..." Ori tried and Dwalin found his throat seizing up again and letting out only a foul and strangled sound, causing him to clasp a hand over his mouth a flush a deadly shade of red as his cheeks set fire with a blush. A blush that only intensified with the sound of Ori's laughter and Dwalin tried to hide his face in shame but Ori pulled his hands away and knocked their foreheads together.

 

"You're wonderful, Dwalin. Not like any alpha I have met before." Ori reassured and Dwalin hummed, his cheeks still aflame.

 

"I hope that is a compliment."

 

"I hope to never complain." Ori promised and Dwalin found himself smiling despite himself and the girl who was attempting to heard cattle into the stable behind them, threw down her staff in annoyance and stormed off. Not that either alpha or omega noticed, too busy smiling fondly at one another.

 

They only began to move when they felt rain tapping the land impatiently around them and then their own skin. Dwalin promised to sit with Ori that night at dinner and Ori would never confess that he was going to ask him that very same thing.

 

However, in distant lands, in other worlds, things were not looking so rosy.

 

 

\----

 

 

Balin sat still and cold at his desk, gazing with red and tear filled eyes at the portrait of himself and his brother when they were just young pups, his brother frowning as always, with only the trace of a smile on his lips. He remembered his mother behind the painter that day, doing anything to make her little boy laugh and it only worked when the painting was done and Dwalin was free to make a nuisance of himself again.

 

The old man found a tear rolling down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away, trying to calm himself and gather the last wavering emotions he felt. His brother had disappeared a week and some days ago, it was unsure when or how it had happened, only that it did and is little brother had not returned.

 

"Lord Balin, scouts here to see you." A voice of the guard disrupted Balin from his grief and nodded.

 

"See them in."

 

Three scouts entered, each looking as saddened as the last and Balin didn't even have to ask, as he sank lower in his seat and placed his hand over his mouth to stop himself from making a grieved sound.

 

"We found this, my lord." One scout said as he reached inside his side bag and pulled out a silver crown, placing it on the desk in front of Balin, the young princes crown that would have soon be replaced by the mark of a king. The grieving sound escaped from behind the elderly man's hand. "We followed his scent down to the stream, but we lost it just between there and the outside lands."

 

"Thank you, plea- please may I be alone for a moment." Balin begged and the scouts nodded before turning and retreating out of the hut where they had entered just moments ago. Balin stayed completely still in his chair for a few more moments before looking at the dented and scuffed crown, now reflecting his own weakened state.

 

Balin let out a tearful sob as he grabbed the crown and held it to himself, imagining it to be his younger brother as he clutched to it. In a dark state of grief he began to feel completely lost, with his brother and father now gone he did not know how he could hold himself and his kingdom together he traced the curves and points of the crown until he relaxed slightly and sat still again, staring at the crown and wondering just where his brother could be.

 

Beyond the grieving brothers tent sat a remorsefulness council, all silent and ashamed of their own words just some week ago. They had wished the young prince gone and Balin to be king and now they saw it was a bad omen indeed. Smaug sat at the edge of the table, hands folded and eyes sharpened.

 

"Something must be done." The pale man snapped and the council turned their heads to glare.

 

"Something has been done, a terrible, horrific crime indeed." An elderly member spoke up, slamming his hand on the table. "This line will fall, Balin is beyond his prime now and Dwalin was the alpha born line carrier, there is nothing now! Nothing but grief and despair."

 

"Come now, that's a tad strong isn't it?" Smaug sneered slightly and the elderly man stood up, raising his cane.

 

"Intolerable old fool!" The old man howled and three other council men pushed him down. Smaug seemed unaffected, old eyes cold and hands poised sharp like talons.

 

"Old fool, says the old fool." Smaug hissed back and the old councilman sputtered and swung his cane again, the pale man stood up, flattening out his robes. "It is almost supper, gentlemen. I shall say farewell, for now and have a peaceful night."

 

Smaug then bowed slightly and slipped out of the hut gracefully, impeccably conscious of the suspicious and questioning eyes that followed him out.

 

 

\---- 

 

 

Dwalin soon learned, as weeks and then a month pattered on by, that perhaps there was more to being a shepherd than just frolicking through meadows of spring flowers and writing soppy poetry all day. Sometimes he just sat upon the rocks in the field and watched over the flock, the warm sun caressing him and turning his skin an ever lovely darkening shade. His beard had began to grow out into something more than strained stubble that he wore back in his kingdom and he found himself finding quite some peace in the world. He had even chased a wolf off once or twice in the time and it gave him the protective thrill he once received from chasing terrors away from his father's borders.

 

Within the village he had began creating his place, a tent of green patched cotton that had been placed in the corner of the flat land, as there was no space closer and no one wished him to be completely out of the close knitted world. The children would sometimes visit him with food and games to play if he was bored and sometimes a maid or three would come up from the camp and gift him flowers, followed by a gentle blush. He knew he was a fine looking alpha and being an outsider gave him even more of an edge for the battle of maidens affections. However, there was only one young one that had truly caught his eye in the camp.

 

Ori. The sunny smiles and chestnut locks of the young man always brought a flicker of warmth to Dwalin's heart even on the coldest days out in the field. Ori would pour his water for him everyday at breakfast as he did for all his people, but Dwalin couldn't help but notice the way he lingered after the cup was in Dwalin's hand, or the way their fingers would brush as the cup was passed and a warming spark would pass with it.

Dwalin did not miss the way Ori would watch him as he helped pull up parts of tents for new or expanding families, all with pieces of old rope and tether. He did not fail to notice the blushing looks Ori gave when he chopped large blocks of wood and timber, especially that time when he hurriedly swung in the rain with shirt practically transparent and tone muscles on display.

He also knew that Ori certainly didn't miss the heated gazes Dwalin gave to him, whether it was from the final days of harvest when freckle kissed skin was displayed in his wide collared shirt or the times when Dwalin would catch Ori practising his combat in the wood against defenceless trees, a scandal should ever his brothers or father catch him. But Dwalin would never tell them, only flirtingly tease Ori about his awful back swing as he walked and listen to the witty reply from the young man as he walked away.

 

Ori was quick and clever, brave and beautiful. A quadrupedal threat that would surely end in Dwalin's downfall, but he could care less for now.

 

Dwalin was pulled from his daydreaming as he heard a little lamb bleat before scampering away behind some tall grass. Dwalin huffed from his seat on top of a rock before hopping down and following the little thing. The tiny creature bounced around in the grass for a moment before disappearing and Dwalin sighed and cursed under his breath.

 

He followed the trail of the lambs bleats and bounces as it hopped through the grass and he crawled along, before he collided with a pair of fine long legs, which he followed with his eyes before landing on the face of heaven itself. Ori, holding the young lamb as one would an infant child and the once bouncy and excitable lamb seemed comfortable and at ease with the young man.

 

Dwalin quickly scrambled to his feet, dusting the dried mud and grass off his shirt before grinning awkwardly at Ori.

 

"You seem to have misplaced something." Ori said coolly as he passed the lamb back to Dwalin. The little thing bleated slightly when placed back in Dwalin's arms, before nibbling on the thumb Dwalin pressed to it's mouth.

 

"It is strange, they seem to like you more, yet I am the one that feeds and maintains them." Dwalin commented and Ori shrugged, simply rubbing the lambs fine fur once again.

 

"Perhaps they just appreciate a pretty face," Ori stated before giggling. "That and I always carry a handful of oats."

 

Dwalin hummed before realising his thoughts were coming out of his mouth.

 

"I am like a lamb in that sense too then." Dwalin stated before practically swallowing his bottom lip.

 

"What was that?" Ori asked with a brow raised in amusement.

 

"Ah, nothing." Dwalin said before he hurried off, lamb jostling slightly under his arm. Ori was quick on his toes and instantly followed the larger man.

 

"Did you just compare yourself to a lamb having a liking for a pretty face?" Ori questioned as he followed the alpha and Dwalin snorted before placing the lamb down by his mother and grabbing his staff, waling around his flock in an attempt to escape Ori's questions.

 

"O- Of course not! I like oats, a lamb likes oats. That's all I was saying!" Dwalin lied and Ori could tell by the blush and the man constantly rubbing his bare head, as weeks to months of friendship had told Ori that was a habit for the man when he lied, that and the stuttering.

 

"Of course, oh yes I believe you indeed." Ori laughed to himself as he continued to follow Dwalin, who stopped a while later and sat on the rock. Ori followed a second later as he spoke again. "Another topic perhaps, are you going to name the lambs as they come?"

 

"Ah, no I have no choice in the matter. Shoshana already named three of them before I told her not to name the rest and let the others have a turn." Dwalin commented and Ori hummed slightly.

 

"What did she name them?"

 

Dwalin pointed his staff toward a bouncy lamb in the corner.

 

"Herbert."

 

He pointed to a small lamb suckling at its mother.

 

"Rosana."

 

He pointed to a final lamb asleep in the grass and chuckled.

 

"And my favourite one, Lambson."

 

"Lambson?" Ori asked with a raised brow.

 

"Aye, because he is her 'lamb son', Gods, I have no more understanding than you do trust me." Dwalin stated and Ori smiled to himself, shaking his head fondly and a gentle flush to his cheeks and Dwalin chuckled himself. "Do I amuse you?"

 

"A little, yes. I find it sweet that you remembered the names and the lambs to match, a lamb is a lamb in my eyes." Ori said with a small smile and Dwalin snorted.

 

"Trust me, be around these terrors as long as I have and you'll pick up a thing or too." Dwalin stated and Ori hummed to himself and watched Dwalin for a few more moments before standing and slapping his hands on his hips.

 

"I suppose I should be off, Nori and I were supposed to be preparing for the spring festival. You're coming with the pack are you not?" Ori asked and Dwalin nodded.

 

"Of course, your father told me some time ago of your traditions, fighting for ranking and such."

 

"Oh yes, he's always popping off about something or the other." Ori sighed and Dwalin nodded.

 

"Aye, that he does. Remember your staff, you forgot it last time you were here. I'll see you later tonight." Dwalin commented as he quickly tossed the stick to the man before hurrying off and disappearing behind the rocks. Ori smiled and shook his head affectionately before he noticed just below the end of his staff was now a clump of lavenders wrapped around the stick with a firm twine.

 

Ori smiled brightly and caressed the gentle buds before gazing over to see if he could spot Dwalin again, but the man was gone and Ori felt his heart flutter at the gifting of the flowers and how much Dwalin was really starting to grow on him.

 

An absolute scandal if his brothers find out, and an absolute dream if they did not.

 

Ori could not hide the smile on his face as he walked back into the camp and dipped into his family tent, the sweet smelling lavenders tucked inside his knitted overcoat and he slipped soundly into his bedroom. Once on his bed, he pulled out a diary from beneath his bed, tucking the lavender inside and pressing the petals so he could preserve the sweet smell and preserve the sweet feeling in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Tell me what you think??))


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventure begins to continue toward the Meadow for winter and Dwalin feels things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah Hah turns out it's been a whole year and a bit since I updated...
> 
> Well don't time fly when you have no ideas Hah Hah I am so sorry.
> 
> Either way, enjoy the chapter that nobody asked for!

As the months passed, Dwalin flourished. Flourished like a stack of stubborn wheat beginning to sprout new clumps of a crop to feed a deserving nation. Flourished like a harvest after a plentiful spring of pure rain, that rattled over the land gently and brought fresh flowers. Flourished like a child after a summer of good sunlight and good food, ready to conquer the world all around him. 

 

He began to enjoy his job as a shepherd even more and began to see nature around himself as a wonderful thing, he even found himself feeling calmer and as time passed his alpha instinct to fight and hunt began to fade. The once highly charged and quick to anger alpha had now found peace with himself, more than he ever could in the role of king, and he found himself becoming gradually included with the community, the betas, and the few alphas in the pack had accepted him and welcomed him in for wrestling and sparring whenever they had spare time and Dwalin, who was trained in many forms of combat, always found himself winning. 

 

However, with all this winning he found himself collecting a following of swooning omegas and even some betas. He didn't notice too much though when a gaggle of young omegas followed him, he had only eyes for only one in the camp.

 

Ori.

 

Wonderful, beautiful Ori, who had stood by his side for the weeks and months he'd been in the camp.

 

After months and weeks of doing the peasant work, he was gifted more cloth and cotton allowance to add rooms to his home or to have the seamstresses make more clothes for him. As a well-respected shepherd and alpha of the pack, he was also allowed metals for armour and weapons, which he forged himself and then allowed some of the older beta smiths to fix it all together. He found a sense of worth within the pack and a sense of working to achieve his riches and wants, something he would never have dreamed of when he became king. 

 

However, soon the summer rolled on and the crops began to fall from the anticipation of a harsh winter, forcing the lead alpha to emerge from his tent, rub his glasses against his shirt and look up to the sky. He then summoned Nori to organise the carts and Dori to organise the pack as they would make their way to the meadowlands. 

 

Dwalin sat proudly atop the back of a fine dark horse and rode behind a cart that sat the young prince Ori and a bundle of children all huddled and talking amongst themselves. Ori had given his horse to Dwalin to ride to the meadowland as Dwalin's horse, bred especially, was not yet grown enough for the bulk of a man like himself to ride.

 

"Master Dwalin, will you fight in the ring this year?" A small voice asked and Dwalin was pulled from his reflecting to a small child perched in Ori's lap and having their hair braided by the young prince.

 

"Oh aye, someone will have to teach you youngins the finer ways of fighting." Dwalin joked and Ori looked at him with a sharp raise of an eyebrow before snorting and returning to the young child's mess of hair. 

 

"That's not what it's about, Dwalin!" Little Shoshana piped up now as she stood on the edge of the waggon with her hands on her hips. Ori not missing a moment and holding the back of her shirt to keep her steady while braiding the other child's hair with his free hand. "The ring lets you pick a love and then you can get married and have cubs and - "

 

"I know it is important, Shoshana. I am sorry if my words upset ya." Dwalin apologised with a bow of his head and Shoshana scoffed.

 

"I'm no' upset, just sayin." She replied before sitting back on the edge of the cart and swaying her small legs.

 

"Master Dwalin knows it is very important, Sana," Ori stated and the small girl looked up at him expectantly as Ori smiled back at her. "He wins, or he is kicked from the pack, he knows the rule."

 

"Please, don't be thrown out, Dwalin!" Shoshana pleaded and Dwalin smirked slightly. "You're the only one who lets me have double dessert!"

 

Ori shot Dwalin a sharp look and the large man stuttered a bit and flushed a bright red under the scrutiny of the young prince's soft brown eyes.

 

"It's not that much dessert, and besides, I ain't one for being beat Shoshana, you know that."

 

Shoshana, seemingly soothed by this nods and continues to swing her legs over the edge of the cart and hum to herself. Dwalin then nodded to Ori who was smiling slightly at him before taking the young boy off his lap and sitting him back with his siblings as the cart began to slow and Nori galloped beside them.

 

"We are taking a quick rest for the horses and the children, the meadow is not too far now but a rest will help us get there faster." Nori reasoned and Ori knew it was the words of his father that passed Nori's lips and not his own but the small man nodded all the same.

 

"Are we eating, brother?" Ori asked and Nori shrugged before riding off to tell the others. 

 

Dwalin jumped from his horse and led him to the patch where the rest of the horses grazed and rested. He then turned back to see Ori helping the children hop from the back of the cart and cheered them on for the bravery even though, for Dwalin, the jump barley went passed his knee.

 

Dwalin smiled softly all the same and began taking steps toward Ori, stopping when a hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him down to where the oldest brother of Ori stood with a meddling smile on his face.

 

"Oh no, Dwalin, I have a special job for you," Dori said softly though it sounded more like a hiss to Dwalin's ears as the older man tugged him from the line of carts.

 

That's how Dwalin ended up here, curled beneath a tree with his broadsword in hand looking as bored as he felt. Dori had put him in charge of watching the horses, even though the large tenderhearted beasts were about as troublesome as a suckling babe. Dwalin sighed and his ears twitched as they picked up a distant sound of the pack talking and the fire crackling in preparation for dinner. He would give his best fighting arm to be sat with them in the warm glow of the campfire right now, but the trees were good company too, oh certainly.

 

However, as Dwalin sank lower to the ground and groaned in boredom, he heard a sound that was much closer than the camp was, and it was soft as silk and pulling him like a string toward the arches of the fresh trees. The alpha got to his feet and followed the soft sound, the horses watching him go before returning to their grazing.

 

Dwalin sighed and stretched his muscles as he walked, after what felt like hours of sitting and watching the horses he was about ready to dive off into the trees and never return. The large alpha pressed his palm to a smooth oak tree, brushing it gently with his fingers as he thought of his home.

 

It was true, Dwalin saw the travelling pack as a home now as he had been there for a number of months that came closer and closer to a year. It was true that he had found a place within the pack that he knew he would not have at home. It was true that he thought of his father. And Thorin. And his brother. By the gods, his brother would surely weep if he were to see his brother now with mud under his nails and hair in knots, and very, very much alive. Dwalin felt his heart sink at the idea. 

 

The last thing he wanted in all this world was to disgrace his brother and his father's memory. However, the alpha shook his head to clear it of all thoughts and continued to follow the soft sound calling him from a distant dip in the forest, the dip filled with flowing water and solid rocks. Unfortunately for Dwalin, the rocks were currently home to a very much naked and kneeling Ori, who was scrubbing a set of dirtied clothes and two smaller dresses that belonged to some of the more clumsy young girls in the pack. Lords have mercy on him.

 

Ori flicked his hair over his freckled shoulder as he leant further into the steadily flowing river and began scrubbing his shirt against the second rock in front of him. Dwalin swallowed thickly at the sight of the small man's cheeks spread in a very vulnerable but very enticing display. Dwalin practically swallowed his heavy tongue and began to run away on rubber legs before the blood in his mind could drain completely and end up around his knot.

 

Dwalin knew then as he ran back to his post, hands firmly placed over his firm erection, that this is one incident he certainly would not be thinking or talking about anytime soon. As he fisted his cock beneath a tree far from the camp and orgasmed with Ori's name of his lips, this very idea solidified in his mind. No one would ever know of this incident.

 

 

\----

 

 

Dwalin gazed around them as they continued to ride south through the forest that very next morning, taking in the natural surroundings and the thin vein of a river that trickled at the side of their path. It had been a relatively peaceful night, despite his earlier incident, and everyone in the pack were well rested and bouncing around excitedly at the prospect of the meadow lands being less than a days ride away and hoped, if the time could be made with an early start that morning, that they would make it there by nightfall.

 

"You will love it in the meadow lands, mister Dwalin," A young Roarien chirped from the back of Dwalin's horse, the young boy insisted riding with the large alpha today and his parents had only agreed when Dwalin said he was fine with the company. "There are berry bushes, oak trees, rivers and lakes for us to swim in-"

 

"And rope swings, tall grass, and huugee rocks for us to climb on!" Another boy added from the waggon in front, where Ori was once again perched, reading to himself quietly while the young pups pawed at him and climbed on him.

 

"That must be good for you young pups, but I am a very old man." Dwalin commented and Ori snorted, never taking his eyes off the book. 

 

"That's true," another young boy added, his chin resting in his hand. "You must be older than my papa, and he is almost fifty!"

 

"I'm not that old!" Dwalin yelped, more than slightly offended by the pups words.

 

"Then where has all your hair gone?" A little girl asked and Dwalin now noticed Ori watching the exchange with a smirk on his soft lips and a quirk in his brow as he took Dwalin in.

 

"Because I never listened to my parents and didn't eat my spinach at dinner. Consider this a warning." 

 

The children all looked around at each other wide-eyed, probably imagining their own platefuls of greens left behind after a hearty dinner. One particularly slim looking boy even reached up to touch his hair, checking if every thread was still in place. Ori shook his head with a small smile and when he caught Dwalin's eye the tall man grinned back.

 

The next few moments went by in relative peace until the head alphas, that were once at the head of the line came galloping back toward him, rearing their horses at they reached them from the sudden stop of the speed.

 

"Daknio, you are needed at the front." One of the tall guards said, then looked with a raised brow at prince Ori. "You may be needed too, young Ori. Your father will not like you so away from the pack."

 

"I am doing perfectly fine by myself," Ori replied coolly as he flipped a page over in his book and continuing to read without a hint of worry in my fact.

 

The guards exchanged a worried look and Dwalin picked up on this before turning back to Ori.

 

"My prince, maybe you should listen just this once." Dwalin implored and Ori looked at him with a raised brow, a response that was something at least more than what the guards got.

  
"I'll be fine, I'll watch the children," Ori replied softly and Dwalin's brow quirked before nodding and following the other alpha guards up the suddenly frozen line of women and men, who gathered together and spoke in low worried voices.

 

At the head of the line was Rinolin and his sons Dori and Nori in deep conversation with a handful of the lead alphas.

 

"What is he doing here?" Dori hissed and Rinolin lifted his head with a grateful smile.

 

"Dwalin knows the outsiders' scents, he can tell us which way to go."

 

"Or lead us straight to them." Nori followed with a snort and Rinolin shot him a glare.

 

"Are there northern men near?" Dwalin asked and Dori shook his head as his father replied.

 

"We cannot tell if they're northern men or southern men, we only know that one will cause more harm than the others would. Do you know the scent?"

 

"I can track it," Dwalin replied as he hopped down from his horse. "I will need a weapon though, I am not going out there unarmed."

 

Dori winced slightly at the thought before Nori pulled a crossbow from his back and tossed it at the tall alpha.

 

"Will that do?" He asked and Dwalin nodded.

 

"Aye, it will do." 

 

Dwalin loaded the crossbow before tucking into the brush where the other alphas had picked out the scent and followed the strong smell of northern wood and leather. It had been too long since he had picked out a scent so familiar and he thought briefly of what he would look like, his bear outgrown and his clothes patched and dirtied from his work in the fields with the sheep. He hardly looked like the lost and hopefully forgotten king of the Fundin people. He prayed he would not be recognised.  He wondered what kind of king Balin was to their people and if he would have done any better as their leader. He wondered if Bilbo had birthed Thorin a son yet.

 

In his thoughts, he did not notice the pack of northern horses and their riders charging toward him until one kicked him in the chin and sent him flying back.

 

"Take that wildling bastard!"

 

"Charge in now!"

 

Dwalin did not know the whirl of scent so there was no chance they were part of his loyal men, they were rogue men who came to hunt, rape, and plunder the forests and their inhabitants. Dwalin shook his head to cure the dizziness and stared at the path that leads toward his pack and where the foreign northerners were now riding. Then there were abundant screams of terror that Dwalin knew he had heard before, at least in the back of his mind that had once been driven by bloodlust.

 

Dwalin ran quickly up the path and found the pack in varying degrees of panic, some gathering their children and running into the brush in hopes of escape, others trying to fend themselves and their stock, others fighting outright to defend their men.

 

Dwalin pulled the latch of the crossbow and sent an arrow barreling into the leg of a northerners horse, sending the rider flying off the beast and few feet in front of Dwalin, who greeted the man with a kick to the chin and sending his head snapping back violently, teeth snapping out in shards. Dwalin loaded another arrow into the bow and joined the fray.

 

"Hide the children in the brush! Take the children!" Rinolin shouted as he hacked a man down with his long sword.  

 

Dwalin fired an arrow into a man's shoulder, sending him falling into the dirt and gasping from the pain. He had no intention of killing the men around him, even if they were invading the small pack, they were still of his land and he would not have his fellow men's blood on his hands. He could not do such a thing.

 

"Grab the omegas, boys!" One of the northerners yelled and the men disconnected from their fighting and now began pillaging the line intently, their nostrils flared as they picked out the scents.

 

Dwalin grabbed his horse and jumped quickly before the beast had a chance to bolt as he charged quickly down the line to his original spot, seeing Ori instantly as he was stood up in the waggon and helping quickly to move the children into the arms of their parents or any of the villagers that came to help until the last child was thrown off as Ori was grabbed behind by a large man and pulled out. Ori headbutted, kicked, and spat at the man, who only threw him into the dirt and pulled rope off his horse to bind the boys' hands as the others ran away with the children, as were Ori's commands.

 

Dwalin frowned darkly and timed seemed to slow as he kicked his horse into further speed, pulled his crossbow from his back and his eyes locked on the man who was kneeling over Ori and trying to silence him with rope and cloth around his mouth. Dwalin took a steady breath in and then out as he pulled the trigger and watched the quick arrow fall into the man's left shoulder, sending him stumbling back far enough for Dwalin to lower his fist and watch with glee as it connected with the man's face, sending him back into the dirt, his nose bleeding endlessly.

 

Time seemed to return as Dwalin jumped off his horse and ran over to help Ori up and unbind him from the ropes and the gag until he was grabbed from behind, a knife poised sharply at his throat as he tousled with the men and tried to throw him off before a small and feather shaped blade twirled through the air and embedded in the attacker's skull.

 

Dwalin watched in astonishment as the men slumped off him and to the floor before looking at Ori who had three other feathered blades between his fingers and was twirling them leisurely.

 

"What, did you think my defence classes consisted of screaming for help and mopping?" Ori teased before climbing on the back of a waggon and firing the deadly blades with accuracy at the incoming northern men.

 

_Gods, he is perfect_. Dwalin thought before jumping onto the same waggon and taking Ori's back as he loaded another arrow into the crossbow.

 

 

\----

 

 

They did not make it to the meadow that night and instead, they settled down to camp a few miles away from the attack site. Two women and three men had died during the engagement and many of the northerners had escaped with some stock and blankets, luckily the omegas were safe and the children unscathed besides a few scratched knees from the long grass and a few bloodied knuckles from clinging so tightly to their mothers.

 

The few that had lost their lives were buried at the sides of the path, beneath the trees and by the river in the most peaceful place and the pack had mourned together and said words of prayer before leaving to make a camp for the night.

 

Dwalin had received a few bruises on his front and allowed the medic to rub ointment on them and force him to keep his shirt off for them to air and heal properly and stitch up the small cut he received from the attacker at his throat.

 

Shoshana sat on a log in front of him now, wiping her wet eyes with her free fist as Dwalin held her other and tied small bandages around the bleeding knuckles there. Shoshana had punched one of the attackers as they pulled her friend's hair as they tried to lift her away, it had hurt for the attacker but did not hurt almost as much as Shoshana's soft knuckles.

 

Dwalin smiled however as he tied the bandages securely and ruffled her unruly hair.

 

"See these?" Dwalin asked as he lifted the small hand for her to see. "These are warrior hands, girl. Promise me you'll keep them strong."

 

Shoshana smiled through her wet eyes and nodded before hurrying off to her mother who nodded at Dwalin once with a soft smile before lifting her girl and walking to the centre of the camp. 

 

The camp slept close that night, the children in the middle with their parents, followed by omegas, then betas and families and then alphas on the outside.

 

"I will hear no more, Ori." Rinolin huffed as he helped his omega son who was binding his ribs for him as they had become jostled by a punch. "Some were lost this night and I will not have you sleeping outside the middle of the pack, you're safer in the middle where I can keep an eye on you."

 

"I am not a child like them, I can take care of myself." Ori huffed and pulled a little too tightly on his father's bandages and wrapped them around him.

 

"Not this argument tonight, Ori." His father stated with a sigh. "I am weary."

 

"I am weary of you treating me like a child." Ori sighed and Rinolin frowned.

 

"You're acting like a child right now. Go say your thanks and prayers, then to the middle of the circle, I will not ask again." Rinolin said as he got to his feet, and realising how harsh his words were, he lowered himself and kissed his youngest son's head. "You may sleep on the outskirts tomorrow, Ori. However, for this night, do your father's heart some good and sleep in the middle where it is safe, okay?"

 

Ori forced a small smile and nodded.

 

"Yes, papa." 

 

 

\---

 

 

Dwalin winced as he laid on his back and gazed over at the fire that hummed nearby to keep the pack warm. He knew it was far too later to be awake, especially if they were to ride the rest of the way to the meadow tomorrow, but he could not stop thinking about the men who had attacked them today and thought maybe they had known him or maybe they had families in his kingdom that would mourn their loss. As he had mourned his own father and his brother had no doubt mourned him. It was the first time in the many months that he had been here that he considered what was going on back home, he loved the pack life now and the freedom of it, but he missed his home. He missed his brother, and Thorin and, dare he say, he even missed Bilbo and his hormonal ways.

 

Perhaps this new life was not everything he ever wanted.

 

Dwalin sighed and gazed up at the stars before he heard a rustle next to him and looked over to see auburn eyes and hair glinting in the firelight as they settled on a bed mat next to him.

 

"Ori-" Dwalin began but was stopped when the small man placed a hand over his mouth and hushed him.

 

"My father says I am not to be out here, please keep your voice low." Ori hissed as he laid beside him and so close that Dwalin could feel the warmth on his skin and made him wonder if he should move closer or shuffle away. He stayed exactly where he was.

 

"If your father says it is wise for you not to be out here, then it is not," Dwalin whispered and Ori rolled his eyes.

  
"He is a worrier and besides, I have you to protect me, don't I?" Ori teased as he pouted and ran his fingers up Dwalin's strong arm and the alpha pulled it away quickly.

 

"Your brothers will kill me if they know you're here," Dwalin whispered gently and Ori giggled and continued his trail continued across Dwalin's broad shoulders.

 

"Then let us have this night."

 

Dwalin did not say a word at that, the words mingling in his mind as he tried to find the meaning until Ori ran his fingers through his beard and tugged him out of the thought.

 

"I never got to say thank you."

 

"For today?"

 

"For every day." Ori replied. "For every day that you made me feel safe and normal when no one else did."

 

"You're hardly normal Ori." Dwalin snorted and Ori frowned before he quickly scrambled for the next sentence. "I mean, to me you are, you're very - very... you're brilliant, Ori. I've never seen anyone able to throw a knife like you."

 

Ori's facade faded and he smiled and hummed.

 

"I've never seen anyone hold a crossbow like you, you strange mainlanders and your backwards hands."

 

"Hey, is that an insult, I'll have you know no one has ever complained about my hands."

 

"Hmm, I'll bet," Ori whispered as he picked up the large appendage and placed it on his own hip as he wiggled closer.

 

"Ori...." Dwalin said before he paused for far too long.

 

"Yes, Dwalin?"

 

"Ori..." Dwalin began again but the words once again got stuck in his throat as he shuffled closer and realised that their bodies were flushed directly against each other and Ori's face was safely tucked in his neck.

 

"Dwalin?"

 

Dwalin swallowed thickly and he felt like gulping when he felt Ori's lip brush the engorged space as he swallowed.

 

"My father once told me that the horns on a deer's head are actually what make the backs of harps because they're the finest musicians in the forest, that is why they must sharpen them against trees to keep their music strong." Dwalin strangled out and winced slightly when the words were in the air.

 

Ori giggled into his neck and weaved his arm around Dwalin's back and allowed Dwalin to hide his blushing face into his slim shoulder.

 

"If they're the back of harps, then where are the strings for them to play? I assume it is the hearts sinew, but that is far less beautiful than what you suggest."

 

Dwalin's heart fluttered slightly at Ori building onto his fathers' word, something no one ever did when it came to his rambling.

 

"Ori..."

 

"Dwalin?"

 

"You are radiant."

 

"I know."

 

Dwalin smiled at that and hugged the young man closer, shoving his head into his neck and breathing in all the soft scent there until he fell into the deepest sleep he has had in what felt like years. Ori did the same and smiled while he did so as he knew the large alphas frame would almost cover him completely and keep him warm during the plummeting temperatures of the night.

 

 

\----

 

 

Bilbo threw his head back and mewled, the pain crackling around his lower spine never stopping for a moment and the grip he had around Thorin's fist never loosening.

 

"Just one more push, my lord." The doctor soothed and Bilbo cursed and swore at him to return to his job and stop trying to comfort him.

 

"Honeysuckle, perhaps it is not best to yell at-" Thorin began to soothe before Bilbo made another attempt at pushing and practically crushed the man's hand with his fist. "Fucking Gods and lords above!" 

 

"Once more, my lord." The doctor said and Bilbo threw his head back again to push before a small cry came newly into the world and Bilbo felt a weight leave him that he did not know he had been holding.

 

"It is a son, my lord! A son!" The doctor exclaimed and cut away the cord and giving the bouncing bundle a quick wipe before placing him on his father's chest.

 

The small boy cried and whimpered until Bilbo, teary eyed but still smiling softly, pet his cheek and cooed at him.

 

"Thorin, Thorin, he is beautiful, look at him." Bilbo whimpered and Thorin nodded in agreement as he moved to take a closer look at his son. His first born. His boy.

 

"What shall we name him?" Thorin asked and Bilbo took a deep breath.

 

"Frerin Dwallinus Durin. Named after his two lost but loving uncles." Bilbo sighed out, completely exhausted from his labour. Beside him, Thorin smiled and petted the young boy's soft brown hair and teared up slightly at his beloved's chosen name.

 

"Then let it be done. We shall announce Frerin in the afternoon of the morrow."

 

 

\----

 

 

"My lord steward!" A scout called as he entered the steward of Long Claws tent, as Balin was working endlessly on a map of his brothers' kingdom.

 

"Yes, my boy Louie, what is it?"

 

"Northern Rangers, my lord, they have returned from an illegal pillage."

 

"I will see them justly punished." Balin sighed as he got to his feet.

 

"Lord Balin!" A voice called before a bloodied man came running into his, clutching his bleeding shoulder that still held a outlanders arrowhead. "My Lord, they have grown strong."

 

"Good sir, sit and kindly do not bleed on the carpet." Balin snapped as the man sat and swayed slightly. "Now speak of reasons why I should not send you to king Durin for this treason?"

 

"My Lord, my Lord, they have grown large. Large alphas, the biggest I ever seen."

 

"Who?"

 

"Rinolin and his band of travellers."

 

"I know of Rinolin, his pack is small, made up of betas and omegas, the only alphas there are made for soft country work. They can be no bigger than Louie here or myself for that matter. They are gentle country folk."

 

"No ser, no ser, he was large. Twice your size and an alpha, a huge alpha. He killed Dracus for some omega bitch, Rinolin must have plans to breed him like a stud horse, ser. He was twice as large as any of our men!"

 

"Why would I take the word of an illegal ranger about such frightful things in a forest? The freewalkers are peaceful folk."

 

"Do not take me words, ser. Take a look at me men instead."

 

As if on cue a handful of guards pulled in the bedraggled and some dead men, all in a state of absolute destruction.

 

"My lord, the large one did spare us at most, but he will be back for blood after he has rested and recovered, he will come to destroy us all!" A frightened man screamed and Balin shoved his hand over his mouth.

 

"Keep your voice down, you fool." Balin hissed before surveying the men again and shook his head. "We do not need a panic over this, I will send my best men out to investigate this in a weeks time, you may rest and think and mourn during that time, leave this to me gentlemen and do not speak of it to any others."

 

The rangers nodded their heads or attempted to do so before Balin dismissed them and turned back to his papers, ignoring the nervous turn in his stomach and knowing if his brother was around he would have known what to do with all this violent struggle.

 

Balin sank to his desk and placed his head in his arms before he began to weep, the first time he had done so since his brother had gone missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Tell me what you think and I'll try to finish this off sooon thank you!))


End file.
